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New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium is shifting its mammal rescue efforts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It will no longer be the lead response agency for seal, dolphin and whale strandings Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the north shore of Massachusetts.

A dead dolphin spotted Saturday on the shore of Cape Pogue Pond is not one of the two dolphins that were observed Wednesday and Thursday swimming inshore near the Dike Bridge, a New England Aquarium official said.

A 13-foot pilot whale washed up on Lucy Vincent Beach in Chilmark over the long weekend. Adam Kennedy, a senior biologist at the New England Aquarium, said the whale was likely dead when it washed ashore.

Mr. Kennedy said the animal was discovered half-buried in the sand by the tides last Friday. Only its head and front fin were visible; the rest of its body was obscured. The conditions were “very unusual,” Mr. Kennedy said.

An Atlantic common dolphin washed up on Lucy Vincent Beach Monday. Tony LaCasse, spokesman for the New England Aquarium, said the recently-deceased mammal showed no signs of external injuries. He estimated the dolphin measured 7 feet, 4 inches and weighed 250 pounds. The local marine mammal stranding team and New England Aquarium were notified of the incident. Following the advice of an expert, the animal was buried on the beach. The dolphin was not among a group recently stranded off the outer Cape and later released, Mr. LaCasse said.

A 17-pound live green sea turtle found on Chappaquiddick more than a
week ago is recovering at the New England Aquarium. The turtle,
nicknamed Quiddick by a Vineyard veterinarian who first treated it, is
the first endangered green turtle recovered live from the Vineyard.

A juvenile humpback whale that made an errant visit and got stuck in Katama Bay on Sunday afternoon is believed to be okay and swimming the ocean. A group of Islanders, with help from the staff of the New England Aquarium, were able to monitor and eventually see the whale as it swam out into Nantucket Sound late Monday morning.

The 20-foot-plus whale, weighing 10 tons or more, was first spotted on Sunday afternoon by staff of The Trustees of Reservations at Norton Point. At the time it was thought the marine mammal was entangled and in distress in Katama Bay.

Last Wednesday evening Kathy Cerick and her family were walking on Lobsterville Beach near Dogfish Bar when they spotted a seal. It did not move when they approached it, so they took photographs and called the police who called the New England Aquarium. Ms. Cerick later received a call from the Aquarium asking her to forward the photographs. The Aquarium then responded that the seal was a harp seal. Ms. Cerick was asked to check on the seal again the next day, which she did, but the seal was gone.

Two dead marine mammals were discovered on Lobsterville Beach over the past weekend. A dead Atlantic dolphin measuring 91 inches was found along with a 94-inch long gray seal, according to Bret Stearns, director of natural resources at the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Mr. Stearns said they investigated the sighting on Monday and concluded that the dolphin had died recently. The New England Aquarium was notified and no further action was taken.